Method for reproducing a production process in a virtual environment

ABSTRACT

A method for reproducing a production process in a virtual environment, has a production facility and a workpiece virtually interacting with each other during the production process. The virtual environment, for the workpiece, is generated out of previously computed three-dimensional data. Scanning an actual production facility is scanned with a scanner. The virtual environment for the actually existing production facility is generated out of three-dimensional data acquired by the scanner.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C.371 of International Application No. PCT/DE2015/100079 filed on Feb. 27,2015 and published in German as WO 201 5/1 31 878 A1 on Sep. 11, 2015.This application claims priority to German Application No. 10 2014 102773.6 filed on Mar. 3, 2014. The entire disclosures of all of the aboveapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

The disclosure relates to a method for reproducing a production processin a virtual environment.

A method is known in the art for reproducing a production process in avirtual environment. Here a production facility and a workpiece are madeto interact with each other during the production process. The virtualenvironment is generated out of previously computed three-dimensionaldata for the workpiece.

The formulation “made to interact with each other” as used above isunderstood to mean that the production facility and the workpiece comeinto contact in the broadest sense during the production process. Theproduction facility is required to perform at least one production stepon the workpiece.

The term “reproduce” is understood, in particular, to mean the graphicreproduction of the production process on a screen or monitor. The partsbelonging to the production process, such as the workpiece andproduction facility, are displayed in a three-dimensional space,specifically the virtual environment. Alternatively, reference can alsobe made to a computer simulation where the production process takesplace not in reality, but only in the processor of the computer.

Such simulations serve varying purposes. For example, there areproduction processes where the entire process is simulated in a virtualreality before turning it into reality. This enables a check as towhether the latter would run its course as desired. However, there arealso situations where a production process that already exists inreality is displayed in the virtual environment. The simulation can thenbe used to perform a virtual test on parameter changes.

One precondition for simulation is always that the three-dimensionaldata of the workpiece and production facility be present in a form thatthe computer can process. In theory, this is routinely the case. Boththe workpiece and production facility are already developed todaydirectly on the computer. The computer directly yields thethree-dimensional data of the mentioned components.

In practice, however, this is routinely not that simple. In particular,as it relates to the production facility, consisting of multiple parts,its spatial configuration is routinely geared toward the workpiece.Therefore, it must be remembered that the actual spatial arrangement ofthe numerous individual components of the production facility relativeto each other is associated with a significant time outlay in a virtualenvironment due to the necessary empirical values during the arrangementprocess.

Consequently, is is an object of the disclosure to improve a method forreproducing a production process of the kind mentioned at the outset,specifically as it relates to preparing the three-dimensional data ofthe production facility. This object is achieved by a method forreproducing a production process of the kind mentioned at the outset byvirtually interacting a production facility and a workpiece with eachother during the production process. The virtual environment, on the onehand, is generated out of previously computed three-dimensional data forthe workpiece. An actual production facility is scanned with a scanner.The virtual environment is generated out of the three-dimensional datafor the actually existing production facility acquired by the scanner.

Therefore, the disclosure that provides the virtual environment, inaddition to the computed three-dimensional data for the workpiece, isgenerated from the three-dimensional data acquired, via scanner, for anactually existing production facility.

In other words, the disclosure involves generating three-dimensionaldata for the actual required production facility adjusted to theworkpiece, not in a virtual world, but rather with a so-called 3Dscanner. To this end, the production facility is first put together inreal terms out of a plurality of individual components. Thus, it isspatially oriented to the workpiece.

In an advantageous further development of the method according to thedisclosure, the workpiece itself is generated as an optical projectionin a developmental space based upon its three-dimensional data. Theactually existing production facility is then oriented and adjusted tothis projection. The special advantage to this approach lies in the factthat the buyer of the production facility often requires the workpieceitself. Accordingly, the buyer is unable or unwilling to provide thelatter to the manufacturer of the production facility. The projectionnevertheless enables the manufacturer of the production facility toadjust and build the production facility in real terms. Specifically,the production facility can be built without, in reality, having theworkpiece in hand.

Alternatively, if the workpiece is actually present, the productionfacility can also be built oriented to the actually existing workpiece.

The key in both approaches is for the production facility, if itactually exists, to be spatially scanned and measured with a 3D scanner.The three-dimensional data for the production facility acquired in theprocess is then relayed to the virtual environment already including theworkpiece. Thus, the entire virtual environment including the workpieceand production facility is finally available for the purposes mentionedat the outset.

Other advantageous further developments of the method according to thedisclosure may be gleaned from the dependent claims.

For the sake of completeness, reference will also be made to thefollowing state of the art.

Patent document DE 10 2005 009 437 A1 is a method (see in particularparagraph [0063] and FIG. 10), where the actually existing productionfacility (in particular a gripper) is simulated by a person with thehelp of virtual elementary geometries. Thus, the formed object can thenbe used in a virtual environment. In particular, the method according tothe disclosure differs from the above in that the production facility(in particular a gripper) is not virtually simulated by a person.Rather, it is individually built while oriented to the workpiece to behandled by the production facility, and then scanned for use in thevirtual environment.

Patent document DE 102 40 392 A1 is a method for measuring virtualobjects that do not actually exist for objects in a real environment.The latter also makes no mention of individually building a productionfacility oriented to the workpiece to be handled by the productionfacility, and then scanning it for use in a virtual environment.

Patent document DE 10 2007 045 835 A1 is a method for displaying avirtual object in a real environment. Thus, collisions arising betweenvirtual objects and real objects, while blending with a realenvironment, can be displayed in a largely realistic manner. Theapproach according to the disclosure is not disclosed.

A method according to the disclosure, including its advantageous furtherdevelopments will be explained in greater detail below based on thegraphic representation of two exemplary embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of part of a production line with arobot-actuated production facility designed as a gripper device forremoving a workpiece from a first tooling arrangement and feeding theworkpiece to a second tooling arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the production facility designed as agripper device according to FIG. 1, including a workpiece;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the gripper device and 3D scanner;and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a workpiece (deep-drawn sheet metalpart) with two parts of a gripper device.

Based on two examples, the figures illustrate details of the methodaccording to the disclosure for reproducing a production process in avirtual environment. This method includes a production facility 1 and aworkpiece 2 made to interact with each other during the productionprocess. The virtual environment is generated out of three-dimensionaldata for the workpiece 2, computed beforehand.

For purposes of better illustration, FIGS. 1 to 3 proceed in a highlysimplified (and thus in actuality unrealistic) manner from aflat-surfaced workpiece 2. On the left-hand side of the image workpiece2 is removed from a first tooling arrangement 3, in order to then beplaced into a second tooling arrangement 3, depicted on the right-handside of the image. These tooling arrangements 3 typically involve(large) deep-drawing presses. For example, metal sheets are deep-drawnfor automotive manufacture. The virtual environment mentioned at theoutset is also preferably generated out of previously computedthree-dimensional data for the tooling arrangement 3. A robot 5 issituated between the tooling arrangements 3. The production facility 1in this case (preferably) designed as a gripper device 1.1 is moved bymeans of an arm 5.1 of the robot 5. It optionally removes the workpiece2 from the tooling arrangement 3 or feeds the workpiece 2 to the toolingarrangement 3.

By way of illustration, FIG. 4 shows a real workpiece. Starting pointsfor the suction cups of the gripper device 1.1 (as evident) are situatedin very different planes on the workpiece 2. The suction cups areinclined relative to each other. The gripper device 1.1 is generated outof a plurality of individual parts (in particular connecting elements,support elements and suction cup elements). The parts are adjusted tothe workpiece and can be fixed relative to each other in variouspositions. Let it further be noted that the two parts of the gripperdevice 1.1, according to FIG. 4, are in reality also joined together bymeans of a connecting element (not shown here).

In addition to the aforementioned known method, it is now essential forthe method according to the disclosure that the virtual environment begenerated out of the three-dimensional data for an actually existingproduction facility 1. The data was acquired with a scanner.

FIG. 3 schematically depicts such a scanner, in particular a 3D scanner4. A so-called 3D laser scanner is especially preferably used to scanthe production facility 1. For the sake of simplicity, reference is madeto Wikipedia with respect to such known scanners. Specifically to thefollowing, permanent addresshttp://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laserscanning&oldid=109718171,which discloses as follows: “3D laser scanning delivers as a resultthree-dimensional point clouds, and hence a complete image of themeasured scene. Based on the point cloud, either individual dimensions,e.g., length and angles, are determined, or a closed surface oftriangles is constructed (intermeshing or meshing) and used in 3Dcomputer graphics for visualization, for example.”

Before the production facility 1 is scanned, however, it must first beobjectively built and adjusted. As explained at the outset, this caneither be done directly on a present, actually existing workpiece 2(illustrated by the solid lines on FIG. 2), or based on an optical,three-dimensional projection of the workpiece 2 (illustrated by thedashed lines on FIG. 2). To this end, use is made of a so-called “caveautomatic virtual environment”, i.e., a space for projecting athree-dimensional illusory world, for example of the kind described inWikipedia at the permanent addresshttp://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cave Automatic VirtualEnvironment&oldid=116 809189.

After the production facility 1, that includes numerous individual partsand in this regard is not easy to adjust in a virtual environment of acomputer, has been built and adapted to the workpiece 2, it iscompletely, meaning three-dimensionally, scanned. The data generated inthe process is converted into a suitable data format and relayed to thevirtual environment, which up to that point only knew the workpiecedata, and possibly the tooling arrangement data. Thus a test can then bedirectly performed to determine whether the production facility 1corresponds to the prescribed requirements, for example so thatcollisions with the tooling arrangements 3 do not take place whilemoving the robot arm 5.1.

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A method for reproducing a production process in avirtual environment, comprising: generating the virtual environment outof previously computed three-dimensional data for a workpiece; scanningan actual production facility with a scanner; generating the virtualenvironment for the actually existing production facility out ofthree-dimensional data acquired by the scanner; and virtuallyinteracting the production facility and the workpiece with each otherduring the production process.
 8. The method according to claim 7,further comprising building the production facility and orientating itto the actually existing workpiece or to an optical projection of theworkpiece before aquiring the three dimensional data from the scanner.9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising maufacturing theproduction facility out of a plurality of individual parts that areadjusted to the workpiece, and can be fixed relative to each other invarious positions.
 10. The method according to claim 7, wherein thescanner is a 3D scanner, in particular a 3D laser scanner.
 11. Themethod according to claim 7, further comprising, designing theproduction facility as a gripper device, and the workpiece is fed to orremoved from a tooling arrangement during the production process by thegripper device; and generating a virtual environment out of previouslycomputed three-dimensional data of the tooling arrangement.
 12. Themethod according to claim 11, further comprising, moving the gripperdevice by an arm of a robot to feed the workpiece to the toolingarrangement or remove the workpiece from the tooling arrangement.